Tom Waters

School culture is not the sole responsibility of leaders. Each of us has an impact on culture (and You Don't Need a Title to Impact Culture ) and a shared responsibility to shape it in positive ways on our campuses. That said, positional leaders have a title and the hierarchy of the organization behind each of their actions, so their impact is magnified. Whether you are an instructional coach, a curriculum designer, team leader, or the boss behind the desk - you have a magnified impact on the school culture. And the culture is a reflection of the leadership in your school. There's no need to buy that new full-length mirror for your closet - the school is your mirror. The school reflects your confidence and your passion. And on the flip side, it also mirrors your fear and insecurity . [side note: this is why district and regional leaders have an obligatory role to feed the principals ] Does a Leader Need to be Perfect? That's a fair question given the enormous...

There is one variable at the root of campus culture - humans. This variable is responsible for all of our school culture concerns and strengths. Whether you've measured it or not, your culture is on a continuum from healthy to toxic. The quickest route to a toxic school culture includes de-valuing humans: Don't smile. Don't talk. Don't compliment. Criticize often. Don't listen. Here's the great news: leadership controls all five of these campus habits! And each of these habits/actions is a pitfall, and I'm going to show you how to avoid them. Notice that none of these leadership pitfalls mention instructional leadership . You could be the world's greatest instructional leader, curriculum guru, or assessment expert, but still build (unintentionally) a toxic school culture. So enough of the negative, let's talk how to avoid the pitfalls of this quick route to a toxic culture. Here are some ways to avoid the trap of a toxic school c...